texasaggiebowhunter

Can anyone tell me anything about Hornady Spire Points?
That is the only load I can find locally for my .300 wby. That seems to be
all that anyone is carrying right now.

m.t.hands

its a good bullet, i think they call it an interlock bullet and mass retention is reported to be good, you may have the same type problem i've had, while everbody else was shooting an 06 or 270, i was shooting a 7mag and you just didn't buy ammo anywhere, so i took up reloading and solved all those problems, btw now i've got a 7mm STW and alot of shops i went to buy ammo at were dumbfounded, a couple would hand me 7mag boxes, i can imagine what its like with a weatherby cartridge, one last resort you might call carter country out around houston, when i lived out that way, seems like they had more or could get more than anybody.

good luck

elkaddict

They are good bullets. I've owned 2 different 300 wby and both rifles shot the factory165 spire points into well under an inch. This accuracy was at velocities that met or exceeded the advertised ballistics! I've killed deer, elk and and antelope with them. If you like venison, make sure you avoid the shoulder! Deer and antelope shot through the lungs never took a step. On elk, they usually exited if the shoulder was missed. Most of the elk dropped at the shot, and those that didn't never went more than 10 yds. However, the ranges where I elk hunt and where this round was used were 300-400 yards. I would not want to depend on these bullet to shoot through the shoulder of a big bull at close range! Indeed, for elk hunting, I would use 180 grain partitions. (Neither of my guns shot well with the factory 180 loads--they shot great with handloads with MRP (which is no longer available) and good enough with 7828). If you are primarily trophy deer hunting, these bullets are devastating and more than tough enough. You will have some blood shot meat--for me it is an acceptable trade off if you are trophy hunting. If you are primarily meat hunting, I'd recomend going to heavier, controlled expansion bullets like the barnes or partition. If you expect your shots to be 400-500 yds, the heavier bullets better ballistic coefficients begin to make up for the decreased velocity and are a better choice trajectory and performance wise. For the typical 300-400 yard shots I find myself in, for deer, I am more than content to use the 165 hornady spire points as loaded by Weatherby.

texasaggiebowhunter

Well I found one place in town that has nosler partitions for $56.50 a box and spire points for $30.00. I am going elk and muley hunting here in a few weeks, so I guess Ill have to spring for the partitions. My brother normally does all of my handloads but he is in west Texas and I havent bought him any dies or brass for the wby. (its brand new)
Do you think that if I bought the 180grn partitions that after elk/muley hunting in Colorado they would be alright for whitetail here?

oldelkhunter

Most dealers don't like stocking 300 wbys in nosler partition loadings because they are so expensive and most guys settle for the 180 grain hornady bullet they load in their ammo. Norma brass used in their loads just drives up the price of their ammo.

Couple of different ways to get ammo for that gun. I would try Federal who makes 3 loads for it all 180 grain loads and all should do the job on Elk and Deer with zero problems. Hornady also loads a 180 grain load with the same bullet Weatherby uses(Spire Point) but with Frontier Brass and usually a lot cheaper. I have used Spire Points only once in a 300 WBY on Elk and it was a good sized cow at about 300 +- 25 yards. Cow dropped at shot and got up and ran about 50 yards. I thought the blood trail was minimal but it went thru her ribs and out the other side and killed her so I guess it was OK just maybe not as much expansion as I wanted. I also used it on a Mule Deer that hunt and on a few whitetails when I got back home and it did the job. I think even Remington still loads for it but not sure what they are loading into it. I have only used Weatherby and Hornady ammo in my 300 and was satisfied with both brands . Never did get to try out Federal.

If you want checkout www.dnrsports.com www.midwayusa.com www.natchezss.com for availability.

bigcountry

Well I always heard they wasn't that great bullets. But I got a buddy who uses it on WT every year. Blows quite a hole thru it. Its not a tough bullet or a bullet that holds 100% retention. I would put it one step above corelok. He also used them on caribou also. No pass thru, but did the job. I wouldn't feel good about a quartering shot in the shoulder with it. Much rather have a Partition. But for WT, even mulies or analope, wouldn't hesitate.

I never could figure out the price difference. I mean you can buy partitions for $20/50. Sure you can get hornady for $12/50, thats a 8 dollar difference for 50, and they are charging 20 dollar difference for 20.

elkaddict

texasaggiebowhunter

They 180 partitions will be more than adequate on whitetails. Hopefully, your WBY will shoot them better than the rifles I've shot. By the way, if you can find remington 300 wby 180 coreloct factory loads, they are great. They chrono right at 3200 and performance has been good on both deer and elk. Best of all, the ammo is cheap and shoots vary well. Unfortunately, its hard to find anymore. Good luck.

texasaggiebowhunter

Elkaddict,
Walmart here has the corelokts. I have heard to stay away from them, but they have a couple of boxes.

elkaddict

I'll check out the locall Wallyworld. I've watched 4 different elk,three deer, and 1 antelope shot with these loads--they do as well as any other non premium bullet on elk. (For deer, I don't believe premium bullets are worth the costs if bullet weight is reasonable). The 180g corelocks exited on all animals, and one of the elk, a very large cow, was shot through the shoulders. All of the shots were 300+ shots. Would I want to hit a mature bull in the point of the shoulder at close range? No. For average conditions, day in, day out, will it work? Yes. Would I personally be happier with 180 patitions, a-frames, barnes or other premium bullets, yes. I bet I've watched 20-30 elk shot through the lungs with both premium and non premium bullets with the various .30 mags to the 338 and 340 wby. It is my experience on broadside lung shots that the non premium bullets out of 300wby mag kill slightly faster than partitions. The difference is slight, maybe a second or two--but I have noticed it. With one exception, none of the elk went more than 30 yds, and with the faster 30s, none have gone more than 10yds. My personal choice for elk is a 340wby with the 210 partitions--they've never gone more than 10 yds and I have no fear, at any range of the bullet not blowing through a shoulder.

NVMIKE

The partitions will be great for your purposes.spend the money and you wont be sorry.